[Source: Reuters]

The United States has negotiated down the prices of 10 top-selling prescription drugs used by Medicare by as much as 79%, hoping to save $6 billion in the first year as part of a plan hailed on Thursday by President Biden to ease anger about high prices ahead of November elections.

Biden’s signature Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law in 2022, was the first to allow Medicare to negotiate prices for some of the most costly drugs that the program covers for 66 million people. The new prices will go into effect in 2026.

The administration hopes the savings will ease Americans’ anger about high prices, an issue they frequently say is their top concern headed into the closely contested Nov. 5 presidential election between Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump.

The new prices represent cuts to individual list prices that do not reflect any rebates and discounts the government may already be getting for the drugs, although the government’s estimated savings from the negotiations do take those discounts into account.

The administration said people covered by Medicare, which mostly serves Americans aged 65 and over, would also save $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs for prescription medicines in 2026.

Merck & Co’s opens new tab diabetes drug Januvia faces the steepest percentage price cut of the drugs on the list, decreasing 79%, while Novo Nordisk’s, opens new tab insulin as part products will face the second steepest of 76%, according to the government.